1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an article storage apparatus, which stores articles in storage sections such as storage shelves and boxes, an article storing method for the article storage apparatus, and a control program for implementing the article storing method.
2. Description of the Related Art
As a conventional article storing method, for example, there is a technology in which information such as a delivery request registration number, and the address and name of a recipient registered to a RFID (Radio Frequency-Identification) label attached to an article to be delivered is read out, it is determined which sorting carrier pallet the article is to be stored in based on the read information, the determination result is transmitted by a wireless communication means to a wireless receiver information display apparatus installed on the sorting carrier pallet which is determined to store the article, and the determined sorting carrier pallet is notified to an operator by means of audio or blinking of a lamp (refer to Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 2001-233410, and U.S. Pat. No. 6,523,752).
Moreover, there is a technology in which, according to EAN (European Article Number) code information, which includes the JAN (Japanese Article Number) code, of a returned article, one of sorting boxes of an article conveying apparatus, which is to store the article, is displayed on a display of the article conveying apparatus, and a lamp attached to the sorting box turns on. A host computer then instructs the article conveying apparatus to move to a predetermined article shelf. After the article conveying apparatus reaches the article shelf, a number assigned to the sorting box from which the article is to be taken out, and a diagram indicating the position of the article shelf, in which the taken out article is to be stored, are displayed on the display of the article conveying apparatus based on article storage instruction information (refer to Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 2003-118816).
However, according to the above conventional technologies, predetermined categories are given in advance to the storage sections such as the pallets and article shelves which are to store the articles or commodities. It is therefore impossible to improve the user friendliness and operating efficiency by newly adding categories to storage sections or changing categories given to storage sections according to the progress of the user's storing operation or the user's desire.